Orphaned
by Saayu-chan
Summary: A little boy is found and brought into Konoha. Something seems off though. Something about this boy is different, and yet all too familiar.
1. The Orphaned Child

Breathing heavy a small child runs through the forest. The child is being pulled along at an alarming pace that he can't seem to match. His mother was frantic and in tears, horrified for reasons unknown to the boy. The woman seemed to have tripped and the boy stopped and looked at his fearful mother.

"Run. Just run. Don't look back and run as far and as fast as you can."

"But mommy…" The boy thought for a second then realized what his mother was implying. She'd implied she was sacrificing herself for him.

"No I'm not leaving you."

The mother and her son heard a vicious screech, it could only have been made by a large creature; A very large and bloodthirsty animal.

The mother shoved her son forward and screamed as she stood and got into defensive position. The boy did as he was told. He felt tears well in his eyes and knew he would never see his mother again. Unfortunately, for at least a few hours the only thing he could hear was his mother. At least, his mothers shrill screams and cries of mercy. But soon he heard a gurgled screech and he knew his mother had not won the battle.

He was alone.

After a few more hours of running as fast as his feet could carry him he felt his lids drooping and knew he'd have to find a safe hiding spot. He settled for a soft patch of dirt in the middle of a very large bush. It was bare in the middle so he could sleep there and be covered by the thick leaves surrounding him.

At least, he hoped.

_**  
AGHK**_

"Good morning, Tsunade-sama." Sakura said in a sing-song voice.

"Ah, Sakura. I have someone I'd like you to meet." Her sensei replied.

With that she felt a light tug at the end of her red shirt. She looked down and blinked at the small boy.

"Hello, Ms." He said in a surprising monotonous voice.

Sakura smiled at him and kneeled down to his eye level. She ruffled his auburn hair and asked, "You are a very handsome boy did you know that? What might your name be, hm?"

"Ukemi Hissori."

Tsunade smiled at them as she watched the two click. Sakura tucked a few strands of the boys hair behind his hear and looked into the contemplative eyes. His eyes held such great intensity for such a young boy.

Sakura stayed like that, talking with the boy for a good half hour. She'd completely forgotten her sensei was there, even that she was in the Hokage's office.

"Sakura I need to speak with you alone."

Sakura had spent the past five minutes having a mental conversation with the boy through looks alone. She looked away from Tsunade and back to Hissori.

"'Sori-kun, please go outside, I'll be out in a little while."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

With that the boy went for the door.

"Sakura, that boy, he was found a week ago and since he arrived he's acted strangely for a child. I'm sure you noticed, he is very mature, but he is only five."

"I did notice. Do we know what happened to his family? Why he was near the village?"

"We believe he was living with his mother and she was attacked. They fled and she was killed. We found the remains of a woman and we believe it's his mother."

"Do we know what attacked them?"

"No."

"Well what do you plan on doing with him then?" Sakura said.

"You can watch over him until the council and I make a decision. But you have a mission in Suna so you might want to go and prepare for a journey."

"Is Hissori-kun coming with me on the mission?"

"Yes, it's not a dangerous mission; I just need you to inform the Kazekage that we have the child, because we believe he is from Suna."

"Oh." Sakura turned and opened the door, but she was assaulted. Her leg was losing circulation as the small boy squeezed her.

"'Sori-kun we need to go and pack, now."

"Where are we going?"

"Suna, we're going to talk with the Kazekage."

"Gaara-sama?"

"Do you know him 'Sori-kun?"

"He knew Mommy, Mommy didn't like him, Mommy said he hurt Papa."

Sakura and Hissori had already left the tower to pack. She could sense in his tone that he didn't believe that his mother was right.

"Why don't you believe her?"

"Mommy loved Papa a lot. Papa didn't love Mommy, Papa wanted to leave Mommy, but they stayed together. It's a great disgrace to divorce when you have a child, you know. So Papa just went on a lot of missions, so he could be around Mommy and me as little as possible. And then he died. It wasn't Gaara-sama's fault. But Mommy thought it was. Mommy didn't wanna believe it, but I think she knew Papa didn't love her…or me."

"I see." Sakura looked over at the boy who was looking straight ahead with no sadness in his eyes.

"You are a very intelligent little boy. Are you gonna grow up and be a great ninja?"

"I don't know. Mommy said I shouldn't, but I want to."

"I could teach you, I could help you train to be a ninja, if you wanted. And you can see if it's what you want to be. If not then when you're 6 I'll tell Tsunade-sensei not to enroll you in the Academy. Sound good?"

Hissori looked up at her with his intense gaze and smiled.

"Thank you, Sakura-hogosha."

Sakura heard the new name and enjoyed it. He saw her as a guardian. That felt nice. She saw him as more of her own child than she did anything else.

She leaned down and picked up the boy and positioned him, motherly instinct guiding her movements. One arm was under his butt, holding him up. The other arm lazily placed on his back, simply meant as a comforting hand. His head rested gingerly on her shoulder.

They walked like this until they reached her house. She set him down and walked inside.

Quickly Sakura shoved a change of clothes, kunai, shuriken, a few scrolls, and other things into a pack. She then picked up Hissori and lead him out the door. They went to go get him a change of clothes and then they set off.

Sakura was to leave as soon as possible.

_**  
AGHK**_

Most of their time was spent discussing various topics and giggling over childish things. The instant bond had almost overwhelmed the pink-haired kunoichi. She felt that this little boy was a brother, or maybe even an adopted son.

One night she sat at the camp they'd set up.

The boy was not sleeping but he had evened his breathing and had a calm aura emanating off of him. She looked over to him, eyes flicking directly to his face. Only then could she see the remnants of lack of sleep, scattered across his features. Dark circles were beginning to form around his eyes, not quite dark yet; only visible to someone who knew what to look for.

"'Sori-kun. Why haven't you been sleeping? It's not healthy."

The boy shifted and turned his head to look at Sakura. His eyes shone in the moon like an animal, but he soon shifted and his eyes lost their glow.

"I'm not supposed to sleep. When I sleep…I…"

"…What? You, what?"

"It's nothing, Sakura-hogosha. I'm just not all that tired, and I can't sleep."

"Don't bother lying to me Hissori."

"I...I have nightmares. They are scary and I don't want to talk about them."

"I understand 'Sori-kun. I just worry about you."

"Don't worry about me. Just rest, it's not good for you." He said smiling at her. He crawled over to her and wrapped his tiny arms around her. And then she fell asleep.

_**  
AGHK**_

After about a week Sakura and Hissori made it to Suna and went straight to see the Kazekage. They didn't get to speak with him for about an hour though.

"The Kazekage will see you now." An obnoxious blonde teenager called out after snapping her gum loudly. Sakura glared at the girl and walked Hissori into the office.

She walked into the room and saw the Kazekage doing paperwork. He had his head rested on a hand propped up, and the other writing and signing boredly. He sighed and then opted to look up at his guests.

"Hello, Kazekage-sama. Bored with paperwork?" She smiled and walked forward.

"Hn." He was about to turn back to his work when he stopped. His gazed was directed toward the small five-year-old boy.

"Hissori? Why are you here?"

"Gaara-sama, mommy was murdered. They found me and now we have to ask questions."

Sakura nodded and smiled warmly to the little boy. "Yes, questions like: Does he have other family?"

Hissori turned a hopeful gaze up to Gaara. "Gaara-sama was the closest I had to family. Everyone else doesn't like me. They act like I'm bad just because I wasn't mommy's real child." Hissori had his head leaned downward looking at the floor, and his auburn hair had fallen loosely in front of his face.

Sakura kneeled down and pushed the hair back away from his eyes. His grey eyes were intense she noted again as she observed the flecks of blue. "'Sori-kun," Her voice held a protective edge and she was giving him a look of warmth and care "you are a wonderful boy, you're smart and sweet, and if it's what you want, I'm sure you'll be a wonderful and amazing ninja someday. Anyone foolish enough to dislike you is completely insane. I don't want you to ever think about that again…_ever._ Understood?"

He looked Sakura in the eyes and seemed stern, he nodded. Sakura smiled wide and hugged him.

Hissori felt odd about the exchange but nonetheless was happy it happened. He smiled up at Gaara who had turned away from the scene and went back to paperwork. He wondered how things may have been if that had happened to him when he was younger. If someone had reached out to him and told him he wasn't a monster, and that he was wonderful all his own. That was a path Gaara preferred not to think about, he knew, if that had truly happened…things would definitely be a lot different.

"Is that all Haruno?"

"No, I also have to inquire about his living arrangements. Is he to continue being a citizen of Suna, and be sent to an orphanage, or is he to be a child of Konoha?"

"Under normal circumstances, he would be sent to an orphanage" Gaara saw the terror that welled in the small boy upon saying this and continued ",but seeing how he already has such a connection with the village of Konoha, more so than here, he will remain in Konoha and the papers will be filed."

The terror was still upon the face of the boy. "But that doesn't mean anything. He will just be in an orphanage at a different village. Gaara, erm…Kazekage, it doesn't matter what orphanage Hissori is in, it doesn't change the fact it's an orphanage. Children deserve family." Sakura stated looking Gaara in the eyes determined and ready to fight for Hissori's right for a good life.

"Then maybe you should adopt him. Children may deserve good lives, Haruno, but we both know that very few get them. Perhaps Hissori could be one of those few, more likely than not, he will be adopted one way or another." With that Gaara turned back to his paperwork and Sakura along with Hissori, left the room.

_**  
AGHK**_

Sakura and Hissori were to stay in Suna for about two weeks to finish all the paperwork. She and Hissori had a small apartment that was paid for by the Hokage, they were to reside there until all the paperwork was finished.

Sakura had finished each document Gaara gave her, papers upon papers upon papers of absolute shit. After she finished each paper she would go out with Hissori and they would shop, play, or train.

Sakura sat high atop a tree and watched as Hissori wandered about below her not knowing where she was. Hide and Seek, she really did miss playing this game.

Suddenly a stick came whizzing past her head, she looked down to see Hissori smirking at her. He'd not only found her but caught her off guard and almost landed an attack. She was pleased with the training she'd gone through so far. Simple and subtle training that he wouldn't even know was helping him until he decided to go to the academy.

She already knew, as she looked down at the child, that she would adopt him. He was to be her little prodigy. She smiled at the thought alone.

_**  
AGHK**_

Sakura awoke that night to screaming in the room down the hall. When she walked in Hissori was sleeping. He was laying on his stomach in the middle of the floor. Sakura calmed, but went rigid after she examined the rest of the room. The window was open, and there was blood everywhere. She turned Hissori over and he opened his eyes slowly.

"I had a bad dream. I told you I shouldn't sleep."

"Hissori…" She trailed off as she continued to look around the room then she looked back to the boy and noticed he was drenched in blood. He reeked of fresh blood. "What exactly did you dream?" Sakura asked very sternly, an edge of panic to her voice.

"I dreamt of a lady."

He was not fully answering her question. "What happened to the lady?"

"…She died."

"Who killed her, Hissori? Tell me. Who killed her?" She was staring him in the eyes, refusing to look around the room and see the evidence of death, to look at his body and see the gore, to look at his tiny hands and see the proof that she already knew the answer to the question she was frantically asking him to answer.

There was a pause, a pregnant pause that lingered for a long while. Then slowly, The small boy regretfully answered the question.

"…Me."

  
…_**TBC.**_

Authors note:

Alright, so this is chapter one, it's short and it felt very rushed to me, but yea, I'm not exactly patient. I meant to write it long and have this in the next chapter, but I really didn't feel like writing out days of blah. Her filling out documents and building a bond with Hissori, or back in Konoha, her shopping for him. Describing what the clothes look like. Stuff like that, just imagine them in your head. I'll be explained later maybe. I'm sure you also have your own idea of what's up with Hissori.

And if you are suspecting it, no, Hissori is not related to Gaara, and is not Gaara's son. They have a strong connection for very good reasons. They have things in common. Sakura and Hissori have a strong bond because she was his fated guardian and mother. Nothing more to that.

You want more, read. I'd like some comments though. Thanks. And feel absolutely free to give me ideas for what to do later on, or in the next chapter. They'd be greatly appreciated.


	2. The Wilting Cherry Blossom

Papers rustled in the light breeze coming in from the open window. The Kazekage truly hated his job. He continued to work on signing papers upon papers. The menial task was something he'd prefer a secretary to do. But of course not, obviously this…Kokoshi…needed the direct opinion of the Kazekage himself on whether or not to paint her house.

Lucky, or _maybe_ not so lucky, for Gaara he was interrupted from his paperwork. There was shouting out by the desk his secretary sat at and then stomping. His door burst open and there stood a distraught looking girl.

Her pink hair was disheveled from running and her face was red and blotchy along with puffy eyes, which most likely came from crying. She was clutching Hissori against her, cradling him and crying. Her clothes looked like she'd just thrown them on and not bothered to zip and button everything properly.

He looked to the boy again and noticed he was covered in blood, which had transferred to Sakura.

The sobbing girl walked up to Gaara's desk and looked him in the eyes.

His intense apathetic jade boring into her frantic confused emerald.

"We…need to talk. Now." She grated out trying not to sob.

"About what, Haruno."

"Hissori! You know something, I know you know something. Explain." She said.

"I know about Hissori, yes. What is it, you'd like to know?"

"Why is he murdering women in his sleep? What happened?" Sakura felt the tears roll down her cheeks again. "Please…" her voice ached with pain.

"Hissori and I are more alike than you think."

"What do you mean?" She said beginning to get ideas.

"Hissori was born in the Village Hidden in the Mist, a demon that had lain dormant in the great tree resurfaced about 5 or so years ago. The village didn't know what to do, so taking after Konoha, they did the only thing they thought would work. They sealed it inside a newborn."

Sakura was wide eyed, she looked horrified. Gaara knew what would come next. She would scream and leave the boy to run back to Konoha, or something along those lines. He was more and more convinced he was correct as she lowered her terror filled gaze to the boy.

Too bad Sakura was not one to do as expected. She clutched the boy in a nearly bone-crushing hug. She looked to Gaara with the tears still billowing out of her.

"Which one? Which demon was sealed within him?"

"…Houkou, the five tailed beast."

Sakura had the ghost of a smile on her face. "I knew you were strong." She lost her smile and cried more as she nuzzled her face into the child's neck.

Gaara was unsettled by her acceptance. The Shukaku was attempting to push thoughts and comments to him, but he was opting to ignore them.

Gaara felt pain rising in his chest. How could this child be so lucky, to have someone who accepted him, for everything.

"But…Gaara." She lifted her head up to the Kazekage's gaze. "What about the woman…the dead woman?"

"She'll be reported tomorrow I'm sure." He pushed the words through trying desperately to hold it together until she left. He didn't need her to see him break. He wouldn't break in front of anyone. Not anymore.

_Maybe she would understand. Maybe she would give you the comfort you want. She understood for the child, she comforted the child. Why not you as well?_

He shoved the voice into one corner of his mind; he could feel Shukaku laughing at the thought. The pain was still moving through him. Sakura stood there cooing to the boy and comforting him, unaware of the pain she was thrusting upon Gaara.

"Leave." Gaara grated as he gripped his head.

Sakura didn't move though, she stood and then set Hissori down. She slowly moved towards Gaara concerned.

"Haruno…" he warned but she just shuddered at the tone and continued. She got to him and reached a hand to his chest. Just before her hand reached him she was slammed into by sand.

"I…Said…LEAVE!" He shouted his eyes wide and crazed, inciting fear deep into Sakura's very core. This was normal, Gaara could handle this; he was used to the fear. He was finally back to common ground.

Too bad for him again, her fear was not for herself but for the boy.

"Hissori…Hissori, I need …you to run. Run away. …please." She rasped through her desperate struggles for air.

Hissori felt the flash of déjà vu.

"_Run. Just run. Don't look back and run as far and as fast as you can."_

"No!" Hissori felt chakra float around him. "Let go of Sakura-chan." The boy said. His tone managed to scare Sakura, but the familiar line struck a chord in Gaara.

_Uzumaki, said the very same thing. What was it about this girl that was so worth risking death? What made her so different?_

_Surely you can figure it out. She is caring. She understands. She's accepted Uzumaki, and Hissori. I'm sure she'd accept you too. You'd finally have the love you crave._

_**HA! What are you blabbering about, you fool? That she would understand and not fear him. Not fear ME? Or even further, to LOVE him. To love a beast, a MONSTER! HA! You are truly insane.**_

Gaara clutched his skull and dropped the sand, releasing his hold on Sakura. Sakura wanted to go and see what was wrong with the older boy, but Hissori could be in danger, she needed to get him out of there. She rushed over to him and then they left the office through the open window.

_**AGHK **_

In the morning Sakura went to go talk to Hissori. They were sitting on the windowsill with their legs dangling off the edge and the breeze brushing across them.

"Hissori—"

"I understand if you don't want to adopt me now. It's ok."

"Hissori-kun, no. I love you. I've already made the arrangements. You are legally my son, and I refuse to neglect my child, or give him anything less than love."

Hissori looked over to Sakura and noticed her pained expression.

"What's wrong Sakura-chan?" Hissori asked as he looked back out to the town.

"It's nothing…I was just wondering about Kazekage-sama."

"Why?"

"I…he must be so lonely, you know. He grew up thinking he was a monster. Many were afraid of him; myself included, sadly. Now as the Kazekage he deserves respect and all he gets is more fear. I would assume that it's very lonely. I'd like to help, but he doesn't seem to like me much. Maybe he hates me, though I'm not sure what I did to deserve that."

"I don't think he hates you, I just think he doesn't want you to try and help. I think…maybe he's afraid that you'll change him. And he won't know what to do anymore. Gaara-san doesn't like to be in the dark about anything. He needs to understand everything around him. So…I don't know."

"Hmph. I've said it before, I'll say it again: you are a very intelligent little boy. You never cease to amaze me." She said standing from the sill to go inside then carefully pulling in Hissori as well.

_**AGHK **_

Later on that day Sakura decided to take Hissori around the village. She had yet to travel around the place yet, but now as the sun had dimmed and the temperature was safe, she felt it would be a good time.

She was currently walking through a crowded street holding her new son's hand and looking at the shops. She came to a shop that looked very interesting with many crystals. She picked up one crystal that was about the length and width of her pinky finger. The tips of it were bright oceanic blue which faded to white and in the very center of the crystal was a tiny bubble of green.

She walked to the shopkeeper and asked about the beautiful stone. The store owner spoke of the stone and that the bubble forms by a build up of gasses that is sometimes produced by the crystallization process. The colors come from the cave itself, depending upon the minerals in the cave that get in the water it changes the color of the crystal.

Sakura took the stone and also a small pink and white crystal. She asked the shopkeeper to turn them to necklaces, the larger blue crystal would be put on a silver chain, and the smaller pink and white crystal would be put on a green leather cord.

They took the necklaces happily and exited. She knelt down and unclasped the necklace. She reached forward and wrapped it around Hissori's slender neck. She re-clasped the necklace and the crystal sat right under his collarbone, hanging by the sturdy silver chain.

Sakura smiled and put the pink crystal on herself. She and Hissori then continued on their way. The temperature was still low, though higher than it was. So She and Hissori decided to go for some ice cream.

She ordered two cones and after they had gotten them Hissori asked if h could go and play on the playground that was surprisingly right in front of them. Sakura hadn't seen it when they were walking, but apparently Hissori had. She let the young boy go and play and took the time to rest on a bench.

Well, at least she would've had the bench not been extremely hot; the sun had apparently made the stone and metal a vicious temperature. While she was very tired, she decided resting on the bench was not burn worthy.

So she opted for the ground. The grass that she had figured wouldn't survive in Suna heat, was not as full as it was I Konoha. Still, it was grass. It was cool on the ground; a slight breeze could be felt. The wind tousled her hair, and she found she didn't quite mind it. Her eyes shifted closed and she could hear the children laughing and playing.

Laughing.

_The laughter of the children made Sakura's eyes well with tears._

"_That forehead of yours is pretty big."_

"_Yea, you should do something about it, it's disgusting."_

_A child laughed and added "Do everyone a favor, and don't come back here, you ugly girl."_

_Tears were freely falling down her face. Sakura had come over with a bouquet of freshly picked flowers from the field and was going to give them to the kids…she was just trying to make friends._

_The flowers were sagging as she held her hands at her side, much in the same manner as her head sagged in dreary sadness._

_The flowers dropped from her hand and Sakura let a sob break out of her. She felt her shoulders shaking, she felt her knees buckling, she felt the stabbing, searing pain in her heart. Yet she pulled herself up, and ran off. She had wanted so badly to just sob there, to fall to her knees and cry._

_Sakura wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing that they had completely broken her._

_A moral she still had. She would break, very easily in fact, but she would never let someone witness her fully tear down and wilt. Cherry blossoms are beautiful, they are fragile, it's a painful sight to see one wilting._

_No one finds beauty in a wilting cherry blossom._

Sakura felt herself wake. It was extremely hot, the wind had completely disappeared and the streets were much less bustling than they were when she'd fallen asleep. She stood up from her spot and looked to the playground.

There was no one at the playground. No children, no people, no nothing, it was barren. She looked frantically around, and it just hit her that she was drenched it sweat. It was impossibly hot, she had to find Hissori.

She ran around the playground searching everywhere for the boy.

After about 5 minutes of searching she was frantically screaming out for the boy.

"Hissori?" She said as she looked up to the tree. She approached the large tree that was now the only sign of life outside that Sakura could see, besides herself. She looked up into the tree's branches.

"Hissori!" she exclaimed. But as the shadowed figure leaped from the shade of the tree towards her, she could only scream and think to herself that this was certainly _not_ Hissori.

…_**TBC.**_

Authors note:

Alright so this is extremely short, but I'm sorry. I just wanted to put up another chapter and this was as much as I could come up with. I promise I'm not giving up on this story and once I get a secure hold on the plot it will be much easier to write the story and the chapters will come more often. Sorry for the wait, hope I'm not disappointing anyone.

_Saayu-chan_


	3. The Dead Flower

Yes, this was certainly not Hissori, not unless Hissori had shrunken, became covered in fur, grown a tail, and sprouted ears. The cat that had leapt at her was standing on the ground rubbing against her sweat covered legs, purring.

She picked up the cat and rubbed the fur at the base of its neck. The cat was completely white with a red patch the covered both of its eyes, he looked like a bandit. An adorable little bandit. She held the cat and looked up in the tree yet again. Hissori was in fact in the tree, sleeping. He had found a shady place to wait while Sakura napped.

Again, thinking of her, before himself. She picked up the boy and cradled him in her arms. She really had to get them both out of this heat. The cat had run back up into the cool shade of the tree; smart cat.

After hours of sprinting through Suna, Sakura realized the city was extremely large. She felt the first symptoms of exhaustion approaching, she needed to find the hotel; preferably soon.

Suddenly the hotel was in view, not far either. A smile of relief crossed Sakura's features, but this was brief. As soon as Sakura tried to move, her legs locked and then her muscles relaxed, leaving her to tumble to the ground.

She used all the strength and will she could muster to twist herself so Hissori, still asleep in her arms, would land on her; not under her.

As she hit the floor she almost sighed in relief to no longer be in constant motion, but soon Hissori's weight was put entirely against her.

The constant pressure against her chest insisted on not letting her breathe. Soon, she passed out, whether from heat or suffocation she didn't know. Not that she was really capable of conscious thought with her world blacked-out as it was.

_**AGHK **_

Sakura had regained consciousness but had yet to open her eyes. She silently laid on her back taking slow and steady breaths. She felt so calm. So at peace. The air she was breathing felt stuffy, like the room was steamy. Come to think of it, the room did feel pretty warm.

Her eyes fluttered open silently and she realized she was not in the position she'd went to sleep in. She fallen asleep…wait no, she'd fallen unconscious. Hissori was with her, it was hot and…they were out cold in broad daylight.

Now Sakura lay on the floor of a small room. It was hot because the room was obviously made of metal and it was most likely around 100 degrees outside. She moved to stand, but her arms were shackled above her. She tried to move her feet, but they were cuffed as well.

She thrashed her head around violently, looking in any and every direction for Hissori. For her son.

She had so many questions. Where was Hissori? Where is she? Why is she here? Who took her? What do they want from her? How was she going to get out of here?

She focused chakra to her arms and braced herself for pain. She then threw all of her strength into shooting her arms forward, thus ripping the cuffs from her wrists. It did the job, but it left her wrists in pain. With that she focused more chakra to her hands and pulled apart the shackles on her ankles. This was rather painless.

She stood, now that she was able, and looked around the room, the door was nowhere to be found. Sakura recalled old days at the academy.

_A huddle of kids were talking and playing, she was not with them. Later though, Ino came out and went to go play with her. She smiled brightly and asked Sakura a question…_

"How do you get out of a room, with no windows and no doors?" Sakura sighed in frustration. "Why didn't I pay more attention?"

"Damn! How do you get out of a room with no windows," she said again looking around the room "and no doors?"

Sakura's Inner self just sighed. she had thought it would be blatantly obvious. _'If there are none, make some.'_

Sakura was happy to hear this new idea, though another part of her wondered why her Inner self decided to wait so long to inform her. Sakura focus some chakra to her fists and did a few hand signs, then shoved her hands toward a random wall. The wall melted away to reveal…more metal. She continued this process with another wall, using only a little bit of chakra at a time.

Sakura had lost hope again; she slouched on the floor in a sweaty heap. The temperature was starting to get to her again. "I mean, it's almost as if I'm underground with nothing but miles of metal around me."

Again Inner Sakura had the 'no duh' expression. Sakura focused her chakra one last time, again a small amount because she knew there would be guards of some sort to fight, and probably a long way to run. She thrust her hands above her, and the ceiling melted away to reveal…a room!

She leaped up into the room and saw there were no guards. There was no one. Where was she? This place…it looked familiar. A hospital? Yes it was a hospital.

Sakura rushed through the halls searching for people. She soon found a room, the only door in the seemingly endless hallway. She walked inside and saw her mother. She was in labor. Doctors were all around her. She was encouraged to push one last time and finally a baby emerged; A wonderful, beautiful little…boy? Yes, there was no doubt this was a boy, a baby boy with brown hair, like his father.

Next there was another baby emerging; A little girl, with pink hair. That was Sakura, she was watching her birth, but did she really have a brother? Was this real?

Her brother was toweled and cleaned one a bed right next to her, Her mother had fallen asleep and couldn't hold the children so they wailed.

The loud cries of the babies seemed to get louder. Yes, it was defiantly getting louder, her ears had started to ring. Sakura's world went black around the edges and everything got slightly dimmer. She felt an enormous shock go through her, a wave of pain that strained her heart. She fought to remain conscious.

The wail of the children was gone and had been droned out by the incessant ringing, she was on the floor trying hard to fight to stay, to find out what happened. To see what became of her brother. But when another shock went though her, her heart pulsed once more and her vision went black once again.

_Such…warmth._

_**AGHK**_

Gaara had been doing paperwork, when a strange wave washed over him. He felt as if something were wrong. Something bad was happening. He tried to ignore it but the voices in his head told him to go look, to go see what was happening.

Still he ignored it, but soon his head pulsed with intense pain; A terrible migraine. He knew he would have to listen to his instincts. So he rose from his almighty chair and exited the room. On his way out he explained to the secretary that he would 'be back when he sees fit'. The secretary was definitely not please with this, but she valued her life, so she, and her opinions of the Kazekage's mood swings, stayed silent

As he walked the streets, he noticed the intensity of the sun which was having a very direct affect on the temperature. He felt the feeling grow stronger, more urgent. And so he began to sprint down the streets. He felt awkward in his situation, it was so unlike him. Here he was, abandoning work for no reason besides to run around the city on a simple gut feeling.

I suppose the key word would be feeling, a thing that Gaara had desperately tried to avoid his entire life. Or maybe in some cases he wasn't so much _avoiding _it as he was _void of_ it. Feelings and emotions were new things and he would rather not get involved with them. Gaara never really liked new things. He liked control and part of that is knowing where you are, what's going on, and why. And so it makes perfect sense why he would not like emotions

His thoughts halted when he saw something on the street. A body lying on the ground; no two bodies. He walked up to them and instantly noticed who they were.

"Haruno, how idiotic." He commanded his sand to lift the two off of the floor and then a separate floating platform for himself. He began forward at breakneck pace, not sure why, but he was in a rush to get them to the hospital.

He barged into the medical center, carrying Sakura and Hissori with his sand, and walking himself.

"Kazekage-sama!" was exclaimed several times by various people and hospital staff.

"They need medical attention." He said monotonously. The nurses rushed to the two floating patient-to-be's, and got them on stretchers. The two were sent in opposite directions, one for the ER, and the other to the pediatric ward.

_One hour later_

Hissori had merely been sleeping soundly. He was up and alert, walking and talking, but mostly worrying about his adoptive mother. Sakura wasn't as lucky as her son, she was severely dehydrated and her body had forced itself into a coma. The doctors were walking towards Gaara at the moment.

"Kazekage-sama, it appears that Sakura-san wasn't properly hydrated, so she went into a coma. She didn't have enough water to sustain the entire body so it shut down to use the remaining water on keeping her brain in working order. We are trying to get her out of the coma. Now, with any case of a person in a coma, there is always some chance the patient might not wake up, which is why we are trying so hard to get her up now. We have her on IV and she's been force-fed some liquids, so she's perfectly healthy. Would you like to go see her?"

Gaara had absolutely no interest whatsoever in seeing Sakura, but children under 12 years of age were not allowed in the rooms alone. So he would do it for the sake of Hissori.

They entered the room and Gaara took a spot leaning against the wall in one corner. It was a surprise to see Sakura in such a state. Wires and tubes were everywhere and he could hear her life through the blip of the heart monitor. She was pale and thin, her skin near translucent due to the lack of blood for so long.

Suddenly, the heart monitor began to ring. The little blip of her heartbeat gone; the flutter of the sound wave was proof, for it was straight and unmoving. Sakura had no heartbeat, no heartbeat means death, Sakura was dead. The logic made sense, but it wasn't quite clicking.

Doctors came rushing toward her, and swarmed around her like bees. Buzzing about, getting tools, following orders, it was annoying him to no end. The more they moved about, the antsier Gaara became. He felt the all too familiar urge to decapitate everyone in the room. The room grew silent as the defibrillator was wheeled up to Sakura's bed.

"Clear." the doctor stated while he rubbed the two pads together. This was a signal for all the nurses to remove their hands from the body so that when he sent the electric volts through her they wouldn't also shock the nurses.

The doctor pressed the electrified pads against Sakura's chest and she lunged upward off the bed, because of the shock. Still, though, her heart monitor showed no sign of activity. The nurses once again went back to manually pumping her heart. The doctor walked over to Gaara and Hissori.

"It seems Sakura is resisting. She is resisting and it is killing her." The doctor looked Gaara in the eyes. Apparently at this point the doctor had assumed them lovers, and most likely Hissori, was their assumed son.

"Do it again, shock her one more time." A voice spoke out low and deep, Gaara turned towards Hissori who was looking up hopefully at him. After a few seconds while the doctor had nodded and walked to Sakura's bedside, Gaara realized it was he himself, who had requested this.

Why?

He didn't care for Haruno.

The defibrillator zipped on and made a high ringing sound that matched the ring of the monitor.

No. Gaara did not care for others.

The doctor rubbed the two pads together once more, the nurses still pounding on Sakura's ribs to manually pump her heart,

Gaara looked at the small boy beside him. This boy was living proof that Gaara did care. He would guard the boy with his life. So while there was no proof specifically, the possibility that he cared for Sakura, could not be disproved.

"Clear."

Once all the nurses hands were off of Sakura, the shock was sent. 1500 volts sent pulsing through her.

The room was dead silent.

The monitor was still ringing.

It hadn't worked.

There were frowns upon the face, of every nurse and doctor. The doctor turned the heart monitor off and the ringing that had filled the room, stopped instantly. They all exited the room to allow her 'lover' time to mourn. Gaara was not frowning; his mouth was set in a grim line as he approached the hospital bed in which Sakura lay. He was standing right next to her, and his hand moved on its own accord. It had lain itself on her cheek. It was cold, it felt like ice water was running through her veins.

No. There was nothing running through her veins. She was dead. It still didn't click in his head. It didn't make sense. Sakura Haruno was a stubborn girl, she was full of hope and life. She took care of everyone that needed her, she did not give up. She did not just lay there and die. She wouldn't just accept death.

At least, that's what he had thought.

Gaara moved his hand lower so his fingers spread across her cheek and the base of his hand, where the palm met the wrist, was resting on her pulse. Such a sad sight to behold…wait.

Pulse.

She had a pulse.

Gaara flicked the switch on the heart monitor, there was a slight jump in the still line. The blips of sound proved that she had returned from the dead. Still he had his hand on her cheek, he promptly removed it and walked off to a seat.

Hissori was staring at him with such intensity. No actual emotion showing, just and intense gaze pointed right at him. But soon, a smile graced his features and admiration all but poured off of his body.

Hissori had to be the first of two people to smile genuinely at him; he had done it years ago. The second was currently lying in the hospital bed right behind the boy, with only slight signs of life, which was quite an improvement from being dead.

Hissori glanced at his adoptive mother, his gaze so filled with love and complete adoration. He then turned back to Gaara with respect. Slowly he approached the Kazekage of sand, his gaze never losing intensity.

He halted in front of the man. Lifted his tiny arms and encircled them around the older boy as good as he could.

Much like the smile, Hissori had to be the first person to give him such a sincere, loving hug, ever in his life. He wondered for a second what he had done to merit such respect and love.

But Hissori was quick to solve the puzzle. He smiled against Gaara still hugging him tightly. He stepped back and looked up to Gaara's eyes.

"You fixed her."

…_**TBC.**_

Authors Note: Again, I apologize profusely for the wait. To tell you the truth yesterday I had only one page of this chapter written. I re-read all of my precious reviews and they inspired me, so I'm up now at midnight, almost one now, to finish this story. Kya, 8 pages! Just barely. It's longer than last time, at least. Still not as long as I'd like, but hey, I typed this up in about an hour so I think it earns me some points. And plus I wrote longer paragraphs on this one. Kya! 2968 words, and my other chapters of this fic the highest was 2560, so yes, this one is the longest I've written!

I still have a very loose grip on the plot, I know where I'm going but I have no clue how to get there. This chapter is weird but I liked it. Hopefully you do too. Review please, and I will be inspired to write, I'm serious, because it was the reviews that got me to finish this up in the first place.

On that note, I'd like to _thank_ my reviewers.

First and foremost I'm thanking **byakugan-master93** who was the first review on the story and has literally been with me from the beginning. So I thank you very much for that.

Next I'd like to thank **Cyber Clash** who has review more than one of my fanfics; Many thanks to you as well.

Also thanks to:

**Placid Snowflake**

**MysticWolf71891**

**angelfox13**

**GaarasGurl**

**Sakura LOVE shadow**

**bad bunny1818**

**xXYour Vampire91Xx**

**yumi hasegawa**

**NekoHanyouHerInuHanyouHim4Ever**

You guys really don't know how much I want to thank you all. Your reviews inspire me to write and they just make my day really. I feel so happy after I read a nice review from you all. So just really, thank you all so much.

Please Review,

_Saayu-chan_


	4. Authors Notice

I'm sorry to say that this is not a new chapter. So, I'm not going to waste your time with excuses- I have been slacking and neglecting my authoric duties. Frankly, lack of time and inspiration is the main issue.

SO- I'm asking and pleading here for you readers to give me ideas. What direction do you see the story going in? Where would you like it to go and how do you want it to get there? Any ideas I use will get big honorable mentions in every chapter I use their idea and a GIANT thank you at the end.

Please help me out.  
Thank you,  
S-chan.


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